Each weekend, four SQL teams battle it out and see who wins their games. The person who, in the opinion of the referees and the SQL official, turned in their best game, is awarded the SQL MVP award.

We will be also mentioning those people who played an exceptional game -- whether they played above their usual game, were particularly quick with bludgers or who affected their team significantly (in a positive way).

This post is to announce the MVP awards of the first two weeks of the summer season.

Week 1 (July 9-10) featured two games: on Saturday, Zippy Fugitives played Hot Potato and on Sunday, Willaway played Wingdings.

On Saturday's game, the officials in attendance were most impressed by Cody Lewis, whose 27 goals made the difference for Hot Potato that day.
On Sunday's game, there were a few notable performances. Elena Galatas did an amazing job for her first-ever match, having 21 out of 50 blocks as a Beater. (Actually, both of the other Wingdings playing, Kim Alting and Arianna Stonewater also had very solid first-time performances as well; we expect great things out of all three of you!) Will Lestrange's overall answer rate of 81.63% was also worthy of note.

However, on Sunday, Sirius Fudge played a particularly amazing game: shining both on offense and defense and, with a 70.59% block rate, even managing a higher percentage than Will as Beater (against the same Chaser). Therefore, Week 1's MVP goes to Sirius.

Week 2 (July 16-17) also featured two games: on Saturday, Wingdings played Zippy Fugitives and on Sunday, Hot Potato played Willaway.

On Saturday's game, the officials in attendance were most impressed by Darcey Goode, who dazzled the crowds as she flew her way to 24 goals.
On Sunday's game, two very strong players on Hot Potato made the difference for their team. Cody Lewis played a great game as usual, with an overall answer rate of 80 percent.

But another player played the game of her life, leaving no doubt in the minds of the officials that not only has she returned to her old form, but she might be the person to watch in the future. Between preventing 14 goals or shots on goal from happening and scoring six of her own, Matilde Rayne's prowess on both sides of the Quidditch field has earned her the MVP for Week 2.

Side note from Will (i.e. NOT from QB as a whole): Mattie actually blocked a higher percentage of my attempts than Cody; the implications of this fact for next season are *very* interesting.

Week 3 featured two very thrilling games, where quite a few players put on show-stopping performances for the crowds.

On Saturday, Hot Potato played the Wingdings. Scarlet Leslie-Lewis did an amazing job as Keeper for the Wingdings, keeping her team in the game for the first two periods of play. Then, at 9:40 PM (HOL), Cody Lewis flew into the Chaser position and seized control of the game with twenty-two consecutive hits (including 11 on Scarlet), leaving the outcome of the game beyond any doubt.

On Sunday, Willaway played Zippy Fugitives in a battle for second place. While Ashley Margaret's 23 goals scored seemed impressive to the Quidditch Board, they were not the true story of the game, even for her team. Indeed, Pavel Lagrange played his best game in at least a year, managing a 65% block rate (nearly 2/3 of his block attempts were against Will Lestrange, so that's no mean feat). On Willaway's side, Will Lestrange managed a 66.13% answer rate against consistent, very tough competition... but it wasn't enough to win the game for his team.

Ultimately, though, the most impressive bit of Quidditch the Board had the pleasure of witnessing this weekend was Cody's twenty-two consecutive hits. This is exactly what the Board would expect for an MVP performance out of Cody: an overwhelming display of dominance against a solid player that ended up representing more than the winning margin in the match. Therefore, this week's MVP award will (finally) go to Cody Lewis!

Week 4 featured two exciting games, both of whose narratives changed dramatically during the third period.

On Saturday, the Wingdings played Willaway. For the first two periods of the game, it looked like the story of the game would be Marcie Hobber's overall dominance, leading her team to an easy victory. But at 9:42 PM (HOL), it was Rosemarie Halliwell's time to shine as she flew into the Chaser position, managing an 86.21% hit rate (the best we've seen her play in a long time) and eleven goals to draw the Wingdings within a single goal of Willaway.

Then, on Sunday, Hot Potato played the Zippy Fugitives. For the first two periods of the game, it looked like the story would either be Darcey Goode's overall flying prowess (not many people can get over 50% against a lineup that features both Cody and Mattie, yet she managed just that with a 52.63% hit rate) or Matilde Rayne's impressive performance on both offense (getting her team out to an early lead they'd never reliquish) and defense (58.33% against Darcey during her first period as Beater). But the final period, Cody Lewis stole the show as a Chaser to the tune of an 81.82% hit rate and eight goals.

Quite a few people had exemplary performances for at least one or two periods during a game this week. However, a quidditch game is three periods, and the Quidditch Board was most impressed by Marcie Hobber's consistent dominance each period (her lowest hit rate for a period was 63.64%) en route to the 16 goals that were the deciding factor in her team's match. For this reason, we have decided to award Week 4's MVP to Marcie!

Week 5 featured two games of Quidditch replete with twists and turns that were simply not to be missed: on Saturday, Willaway played Hot Potato and on Sunday, the Zippy Fugitives played the Wingdings.

Although only five players in total showed up for Saturday's matchup there was a surprisingly exciting quidditch match, with nearly everyone up to the challenging conditions of the pitch that day. For the first two periods of the match, the main storyline was Rosalie Mason's solid offensive performance, keeping up with some very solid players to the tune of 13 goals and a 62.3% hit rate. Cara has proved throughout the season that she is DEFINITELY a player to watch out for in the fall! Meanwhile, February Fortescue scored on Cody in her second game EVER, while Sirius Fudge managed a correct answer rate above 50% (becoming only of only five players to manage that feat against that team). Then, as period three began, attention diverted to the showdown between fire and ice: Will Lestrange at chaser versus Cody Lewis at keeper. Although Will managed to win the first three showdowns, Cody won the overall head-to-head, 60% to 40%, as Hot Potato guaranteed themselves a 1st place regular season finish.

Sunday's matchup also featured some amazing flying. Although Scarlet Leslie-Lewis did an amazing defensive job to keep the game close (55.88% block rate, for those playing the home game), the deciding factor for the game ended up being the fantastic flying from the Zippy Fugitives: Pavel Lagrange scored five quick goals to give the Fugitives a lead that they would never let go of... while Darcey Goode put on an amazing performance on both sides of the pitch, winning the head-to-head matchup against every Wingding (including Scarlet!) to the tune of a 76% correct answer rate: preventing sixteen Wingding goals (or shots on goal) from happening while scoring seven goals of her own in the final period.

Because she proved herself a dominant threat on every position on the field that weekend (never mind that the Golden Snitch she nabbed was on Saturday, not Sunday), Darcey Goode has earned the MVP for Week 5!

This is a combined write-up for the final two weeks of Quaffle play in SQL: Week 6 (the final week of the regular season) and the playoffs this past weekend.

Week 6 featured two games that couldn't be more different: a scoring clinic on Saturday was followed by a defensive duel on Sunday.

On Saturday, the Zippy Fugitives played Willaway to determine which team would advance to the finals. The match was an exciting offensive shootout, with three Chasers scoring in double digits: Pavel Lagrange and Ashley Margaret for the Fugitives and Will Lestrange for Willaway. The Quidditch Board was particularly impressed by Pavel's 71.73% answer rate. Also, although it wasn't enough to win the match for his team, Will managed to score more than 50% on every member of the Fugitives en route to seventeen goals.

On Sunday, the Wingdings played Hot Potato in the lowest scoring match of the season, with just sixteen total goals scored. As such, the Keepers controlled the play of the match: while Tarma Amelia Black and Aurelia West combined for ten Keeper blocks to keep their team in the game, it was Matilde Rayne's 70.59% block rate, letting in all but four goals, that was the true story of the match to ensure a perfect regular season record for Hot Potato.

Last weekend featured the SQL playoffs: the third place match took place on Saturday and the championship game was on Sunday.

On Saturday, the Wingdings played Willaway in a battle for third place. Although Scarlet Leslie-Lewis's Chaser performance in the third period (with a 72.14% hit rate and scoring nearly two-thirds of her team goals) was a solid effort, the story of the game was definitely Will Lestrange's display of offensive fireworks: securing a victory for Willaway with an 88.10% hit rate and thirty-five goals (both SQL season records).

On Sunday, Hot Potato played the Zippy Fugitives with the SQL championship on the line. Darcey Goode put forth a valiant effort for the Fugitives, scoring ten goals to keep her team in the game, but they would not be enough that day. On the Potato side, Matilde Rayne managed to win the head-to-head matchup against every Fugitive she faced, but even her performance wasn't the most impressive of the match. That honor would have to go to Cody Lewis for his 82.35% answer rate, including a Chasing period which began with thirteen straight hits against a very tough defensive line.

For dominating their respective games with showstopping performances, the Quidditch Board has therefore decided to award two MVPs: to Will Lestrange and Cody Lewis.